After The Sunrise
by Jusrecht
Summary: Chairman Dullindal requested for a meeting with the four war hero. They certainly didn't expect what was expecting them. AsuKira. Discontinued.
1. Her Path

**Title: After The Sunrise**  
**Author: Jusrecht**

**Genre:** Drama/Romance/Action/Adventure

**Pairings: **Main: Kira/Athrun, Cagalli/?; Others: Dearka/Yzak

**Disclaimer: **Gundam SEED's wonderful characters including its mechas belong to Sunrise. The title is a wonderful song by Yanni, my many inspirations. I own the plot though.

**Warning: **Male/male pairings and has some spoilers for Gundam SEED series and Gundam SEED Destiny. The story will not resolve around mobile suits even though they will be there in the background.

**Notes: **Here is another Gundam SEED fic by me. This story will have a couple of references to Destiny and some of its characters appearing (like Gilbert Dullindal and later on, Shinn Asuka and friends). The plot itself will not follow what is going to happen in Destiny unless I state so, which will be accordingly since I have only watched its four first episodes. Enjoy.

**Stage One: Her Path**

The office was dim that evening, the sole source of light a lamp on the medium-sized mahogany desk at one end of the room, the sun had long since sinking to the west, leaving a dark vast sky behind green-curtained window. The steady ticks of a grandfather's clock and shuffling of paper were the only sound spoiling the melancholy veneer of silence maintained in the office. Sitting behind the paper-covered desk was a respective member of Representatives of ORB, her head bent low almost touching a piece of paper she was studying. Minutes passed and her frown deepened as her eyes devoured every line written on the paper.

"Selfish bastards..." she hissed, her voice echoing hollowly in the empty room. The paper was put down roughly, leaving on it visible creases made by her long taper fingers, and she leant back to her plush armchair, closing her eyes to soothe the rising anger.

A minute later there was a train of knocks at the door and a slightly muted voice beyond the door following. "Athrun Zala reporting."

"Come in," she called out, still not opening her eyes. There were a faint creak and a sound of light footsteps on carpeted floor answering to her permission, ended by a sudden dawn of light surging through her tightly shut eyelids. She opened them on impulse, glaring to her personal assistant with narrowed golden eyes. So far, it seemed to have the smallest effect on the newly-arrived guy.

Athrun approached her desk, a disapproving look on his face as he reprimanded firmly, "Adequate light is important for your eyes' well-being, Representative Athha."

"Only you will say that sort of thing," she scoffed half-heartedly, which was right up to some points since there was no one save for him who dared – or cared enough – to remind her about her own health, probably due to the issue of her fairly young age in the world of politics she was trying to delve in. Or Kisaka in that matter, but he was currently having his day off today. Half desperate, she buried her head under her arms, moaning wearily, "Oh, damn it... Some of these days are really going to be the end of me."

"You can always ask me over to help in certain matters." The hint of concern in his reply was subtle, but it was there.

"You have your own affair to attend, Zala," the pair of golden eyes peeked from their hiding, lack of enthusiasm apparent in them. Then her voice raised a notch when she noticed his statue-like pose, "And get off that business-like attitude of yours. I'm sick of anything formal right now."

"Yes, Ma'am," Athrun's voice were full with flickers of amusement, which made her to look up to the little smile on his lips, to the way he slanted his head a bit while letting the desk to partly support his weight, and thought, _'Damn, what kind of idiot I was to let this strikingly handsome guy go?'_

But it was the truth. Despite her former boyfriend's obvious lack of anything detestable or negative, a relationship more than a very close friend just did not work between them. They had realized, after one year of wondering and seeking why, that the affection they harbored on each other was not love in its romantic passionate shape. Comforting, yes, still he was not the person she wanted to marry one day and be with in that long journey until death parted them, but rather one she wanted to befriend closely. A very precious friend. And she knew that he too had his heart somewhere else, in someone else's hold, and every so often could not help but to tease him about it if the occasion was somewhere at hand. Usually he would just develop this lovely shade of red on his cheeks since there was no one he could use to call a decent counterattack.

True enough, there was no one such the person she fell in love with yet, but it was hardly bothering her. The matter of rebuilding ORB physically and governmentally rendered her hands full and she had wonderful friends helping her in various ways. In a way she still had him, as a trustworthy friend to guard her from any harm and that, for now, was good enough for her. They still loved each other in that way.

For a while, the revered representative remained supremely unaware that she was practically staring at her assistant until said assistant took an initiative to wave a hand in front of her.

"Cagalli?"

_That_ effectively pulled her back to reality. "Eh, sorry," she mumbled quickly before burying her face back to her hands, hiding a blush which was threatening to spread, and finished lamely, "Just a bit tired."

If Athrun suspected her of being dishonest, he showed nothing of it and merely patted her on the back. "A hard day?"

The question drifted her mind to the letter she had previously read. Almost as immediate, Cagalli raised her head up and the strain she felt burst into trains of words, her tone sharp and accusing. "I've never liked ZAFT. I mean, I don't really have anything against Coordinators but I do immensely hate ZAFT. I swear that Dullindal really has nothing to do but looking for a way to piss me off."

"At least he shares your idea that peace is better than war," Athrun replied carefully, refraining himself from saying any personal opinion that might support his annoyed charge's idea. "Why do you say that?"

Crossly the blond-haired girl took a paper from under her elbow and waved it at him, "This is why. You'll be reconsidering your statement that he shares my idea once you've finished reading this. And he calls you Alex Dino there."

For a moment Athrun only stared at the offered piece of paper, evidently a formal letter with a ZAFT symbol embellished at the top, before taking it from Cagalli's impatient hand. There was a silence reigning over them as he thoroughly read its neatly printed content and once in a while his fingers would move, absentmindedly smoothing down the creased paper. His expression hardly changed when he put the letter back on her desk and returned Cagalli's waiting gaze.

"Put simply, he wants a meeting with you this Saturday in order to discuss a certain matter with high importance which, as he has written down there, may disrupt the perpetuity of peace we have been trying to preserve."

"Yep," she tapped her desk impatiently, her voice turning sarcastic, "that's how he put it, with those sugar-coated words and all. Basically he wants _ORB's military_ to help him in this so-called important matter, that's why he demands for Kisaka's and your presence." Suddenly she stood up and slammed her fist to the desk, her eyes ablaze with anger, "He doesn't give a damn to peace! I bet he can't even spell it, that cruel arrogant bastard! He doesn't know how we struggled for it, how many lives were taken, how their families cried and cursed war! No, those things don't interest him! He wants something bigger, something that can put his name etched onto everybody's memory! He wants that kind of fame! He wants... he wants war!"

Athrun said nothing until she calmed down and slumped back to her seat with a long groan, "I really _really_ hate him."

It was hard, he knew, for her to brace herself and take the responsibility of being the leader of ORB in order to fulfill her father's will. Girls at her age would not usually have that kind of formidable strength, but he always knew that she was different in many ways, and he loved her for that along with innumerable other reasons. His decision to stay at ORB – by her side – came so easy to him, almost like something he would naturally do, because she worth his every single effort to be protected.

Gently he put a comforting hand on her rigid shoulder. "It's possible that he was telling you the truth about this important matter. Maybe he does need our help."

"I really doubt it, looking at my previous encounters with him," Cagalli shot back sullenly before casting a fleeting look at her assistant. "Glad you're not a part of ZAFT anymore. I really want to kick their ass right now, Dullindal in particular."

"Not that I have that choice myself," Athrun chuckled recalling the whole irony of his position. "I'm a deserter, remember?"

"But your friend could do that, I mean, going back to ZAFT."

"Dearka is different. He has a reason to go back and it's an _awfully_ obvious reason." There was a tinge of light amusement in Athrun's voice as a picture of a certain short-tempered ZAFT pilot flashed across his mind. "Besides, his reason to go back is also helping him from the other side, else he wouldn't have been forgiven this easily for helping us against them that time. But quite accidentally," his smile turned into a full grin, "that person holds some kind of grudge against me that I'm sure he'll kill me first before helping me to get back into ZAFT."

Cagalli rolled her eyes. "What a good relationship you have there with your fellow comrades. All the more reason to find ZAFT despicable."

"Yeah, maybe," he agreed but his eyes were distant, like they were seeing something from the dismal past, a fragment of a broken memory. "But he's a nice person all the same, even though terribly reckless. I think I can understand why Dearka felt he needed to go back."

At the end of his words, she sighed and made a face at him, "Great job, Athrun. You make me unable to hate them further."

"Mission accomplished then," he winked at her and laughed. It was one of those ways they often employed to refrain misery and despair from overcoming them – or to keep themselves sane – since the post-war era was not exactly a time where happiness ruled. His tone fell gentler when he continued, "Staying impartial is a quality you must have to be the future leader of ORB, you know. That includes keeping your private opinions hidden from public."

"I know," she groaned and started banging her head against the hard surface of her desk. "Politics and all of its rules please go to hell and stop bothering me... gods! I don't know how I can live through this!"

"Stop that," Athrun scolded, taking a firm hold of her shoulder to prevent her from inflicting more damage both to herself and the desk. "You don't want Dullindal to see a big red spot on your forehead this Saturday, trust me."

The blond girl shot him a sour look. "How do you know that? Maybe it will make him stop bothering me."

He gave her a _look_ at the faint trace of hope in her voice, understanding nevertheless. "I know it's hard, Cagalli, everybody does, but not everybody can be ORB's leader or have the capacity to. But you can, you have them. At least if ORB is under your hand, you'll do your best to not let it and the world experience another war. Others may not have the same sense for peace and who knows what they'll do if they were in your position, holding that kind of power."

A faint gleam appeared in his green eyes and the next words fell from his mouth with the intensity of the greatest willpower. "That was why Uzumi-sama trusted this to you."

She looked up at the mentioning of her late father's name, staring into his deep cloudless emerald eyes. There was so little hesitation in them, nothing like the eyes of a blue-haired boy who had been swung around between two sides by fate two years ago, and it set a determination in her. Athrun had always had this extraordinary ability to assure those he loved that he would always be there by their sides, which Cagalli was grateful at since she had not many those she could turn to in times of need now. Entirely on impulse, her arms slid around his fairly slender waist and she pulled him close, sighing against the fabric of his sweater.

"You're just great, you know that? I'm glad you're still here with me."

"I know that Colonel Kisaka isn't really good at these things," he replied with a little grin, stroking her smooth flaxen-colored hair with a steady pace. Cagalli pulled him closer, feeling her eyes had moistened and trying so hard not to let the haze condense and fall, because like Kira had said, while wearing her formal white uniform, she had to be strong.

After some times she looked up, mocking a torn expression even as her eyes shone with mischief blending with silent yet palpable gratitude for his unvoiced support. "Is my brother going to kill me for this?"

Athrun's laughter was melodious, a rich flowing river with a quality to bring comfort to everyone who earned the privilege to hear it. She felt the rest of her tension melting to a warm smile when he once again gazed down at her, his eyes radiant with something she knew no one but her sibling could rouse. "Maybe not. He's not that kind of jealous type as long as you don't kiss me."

"Don't flatter yourself, Athrun Zala," she reproached and punched him lightly on the ribs. "You hardly worth the fight. And I won't sink that low as to steal somebody's boyfriend, least of all my brother's."

"You really need to find a guy," he mocked a desperate sigh which earned him more glares from the blonde. But his eyes promised something more, not only the merry trivialities they often had exchanged, not only a guarantee of his constant presence, but also a love that no longer could be stained by jealousy or distrust.

And Cagalli thought she understood.

_-To be continued-__  
_

**Ramblings:** There goes the first chapter hurrah! It may seem Athrun/Cagalli-ish but this story is Kira/Athrun, trust me. To go on with the rambling, I'm a big fan of Cagalli (actually, she is the only anime girl I'm really fond of beside Kikyou from Inuyasha and Ayanami Rei from Evangelion) and I don't mind her with Athrun, but for this fic, I want Kira to be with Athrun. She really deserves someone though, but I don't have any idea who. I was thinking of Kisaka at first, but that... coughs will bring many issues on board, not to mention that the idea gives me a shiver. So, yeah, it's between Shinn Asuka or Rey Za Burrel or you can recommend another candidate. I'll make my decision in accordance with the majority vote.

One more thing I need to ask. Does anyone know the name of Andy's right-hand man? He was the one with red hair and later became some kind of bodyguard for Lacus when she was a fugitive. I think it's Da Costa but I'm not sure.

Lastly, I'm actually thinking of a beta-reader since I feel very self-conscious of my lousy grammar, sentence structures, and all those English issues. Please leave a review along with an e-mail address if there is someone who cares to help this poor writer. I will be very grateful.

The last but not least of the very last things, thank you for reading! XD


	2. His Thoughts

**Title: After The Sunrise**

**Author: Jusrecht**

**Genre:** Drama/Romance/Action/Adventure

**Pairings:** Main: Kira/Athrun, Cagalli?; Others: Dearka/Yzak

**Disclaimer:** Not mine

**Warning (for this chapter):** Male/male pairings, major AU-ness to Gundam SEED Destiny series

**Notes:** Thanks to **i love athrun, JC Maxwell-Yuy** (love your nickname XD), and **Elfin** for reviewing the first chapter. Hope you'll enjoy this one too.

To **JC Maxwell-Yuy**: I agree with your opinion of Cagalli. If there is one more guy like Athrun, everything will be solved, but yeah... you don't find a guy like that at every corner XD By the way, I'm interested with your idea to let Shinn have a crush to Athrun first. May I use that? I'm not sure how I'll be able to write it but if I can, I will.

Stage Two: His Thoughts 

The constant drone of engines occasionally mingling with faint sounds of footsteps and even fainter murmurs greeted him as he stepped down from his shuttle. Kira Yamato stifled a yawn and glanced around with slightly hazy eyes, noting the usual bustles in the port as well as its obvious lack of human staffs. Machines and technology had made up for it once, since the Coordinators' superiority in skills was the balancer to their fairly smaller number compared to the Naturals. But now, he realized that the shortage of workers PLANT suffered was bordering to a critical point where machines and technology could no longer substitute.

A man, neatly dressed in ZAFT's green military attire approached him hastily. He made a salute once they were face to face and asked in a low flat voice, "Lieutenant Yamato, Sir?"

"Torii!"

The officer blinked at a yellow-green mechanical bird fluttering down to perch on the former pilot of Freedom's head. Aware of the importance of one's reputation, Kira quickly shoved the bird down to his shoulder and returned the salute. "Yes."

His escort nodded curtly. "Please follow me, Sir."

With Torii on his shoulder, Kira did as told, quietly following the man down a row of many other shuttles, some of them private and expensive-looking while others heavily armed. Something in the way the ZAFT officer acted – brisk yet alert – reminded him to a letter he had received exactly a week ago from the chairman of the High Council of PLANT. It was short, formal, requesting for his presence to a meeting which about to take place tomorrow with an emphasized point of secrecy.

Not that it was a hard thing to do. While his name along with his reputation was eminent throughout the galaxy, there were few in PLANT who actually knew his face. Moreover, Dullindal had advised him not to wear his red uniform, and currently sporting the green one, the notorious Kira Yamato blended pretty well among other regular ZAFT soldiers.

Quickly they made their way through a long corridor and entered a bright vast hall crowded with men and women in PLANT Council outfit, some of them had the gravest face Kira had ever seen. Among them was Eileen Canavar, who shot him a solemn look but said nothing, merely tightening her lips into a thin grim line. At this point he felt his temple starting to furrow; they had never been particularly close, but she was the only member of the High Council – beside Lacus – that had ever genuinely smiled at him.

Perhaps he had done something irreversible and now had to be removed entirely from the military. Or they began to think that his deed of killing many ZAFT soldiers two years ago was in fact unforgivable.

That still did not explain the heavy tension he felt there though.

His escort was guiding him out of the hall and down another corridor, on which side there was a row of sliding doors. A moment later he halted in front one of them and quickly inserted a string of numbers to unlock it. Inside was a small waiting room and a familiar voice floated in the air as soon as they stepped into the room.

"Good to see you again, Kira."

The brown-haired guy looked up in surprise. "Lacus! How... I thought you were still at Earth for that visit! When did you return to PLANT?"

"Just yesterday," she smiled warmly, not the least bit different from the last time they had met even though the dark High Council uniform she wore somewhat gave her an impression of a cold calculating wisdom. After all, she had always been mature in her own innocent way, a plus point which had convinced Dullindal to eventually acknowledge her as a member of his board.

Leaping down from the couch and beginning to jump around the room was her constant companion, welcoming him with more lively 'haro!'s and 'genki!'s which Torii stared at with a degree of interest. Kira caught the bouncing pink ball before it could invade and ruffle his hair – these small handcrafts of Athrun seemed to find their owner's head an enjoyable spot to sit on – his eyes were still set questioningly on Lacus who had walked past him to his still waiting escort.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Cholde," she said to the officer graciously. "Just before there was a message from Commander Jule saying that he required for your assistance now at the fourth hangar. I believe it is quite urgent."

"Then, please excuse me, Representative Clyne," the officer saluted and left at once.

Kira raised an eyebrow at her. "Commander Jule?"

"Ah yes, Yzak is here too," she took his arm and led him to sit down on the settees. "The High Council will hold an annual conference on Monday, which demands the presence of at least three quarter of its members and several ZAFT officers for the military details. He is one of them of course."

"And I'm invited?" Kira asked in apparent disbelief. Their need of Yzak's presence – considering that the former pilot of Duel was now one of the highest – he could understand well, but as for his, he was merely a lieutenant, a fairly new soldier whose service in ZAFT had been no more than a year at most, and for some reasons, the chairman of PLANT High Council had bothered to invite him personally and secretively. From any point of view it was very curious.

But Lacus shook her head. "I don't think it is the reason of your summoning. Chairman Dullindal clearly emphasizes that your presence in PLANT should be kept a secret, which is a contradiction if he needs you to speak in front of the Council. So far he has only told me that he needs to have a secret meeting with some, including you."

"I hope it's nothing serious," he murmured thoughtfully while on his lap Haro had started protesting. His eyes met hers, and they both knew that his hope was not possible, not if the point of confidentiality in this matter was anything to go by. Inwardly Kira heaved a long sigh; despite their struggles, hard work, and all two years ago, the war still managed to keep its flames burning as if unperturbed. It distressed him to witness with his own eyes – since he was assigned at the very front line – the onset of another war brewing while the vileness of the last had not yet to wither from its victims' memory. Apparently there were still many from both sides that had not grown tired of war yet.

Kira had the chance to slip away, many in fact, that one had to wonder why he still bothered to stay if he could just leave. When Athrun had said that he was going to ORB, Kira could have chosen to follow his own free, warless path, only he did not. When Eileen Canavar had requested him to make use of his supreme virtuosity to save the life of many Coordinators, he could have declined and retreated to some place remote and unapproachable, only he did not, and thus his career in ZAFT began. He had once been given those choices, but he had left them untaken.

Because peace was still faraway.

Suddenly Lacus put her hand on his and he looked up at her comforting smile. "Do not worry yourself too much, Kira. We will try our best not to let anything worse happen."

He felt himself smiling back at her. She had a way with people that fascinated not only most of Coordinators but also Naturals, which was exactly why Chairman Dullindal had assigned her in many affairs related with the Naturals. For the same reason, she also became a hazardous presence to those who did not wish for peace.

"I heard about the incident in Washington," his voice deepened in concern. "I'm glad you're alright. Was it Blue Cosmos?"

For the first time the smile faded from her face. "Most likely yes since I was on Earth, but there is no definite proof yet. It could be Betelgeuse."

Suddenly Kira shuddered at her reference to the particular organization. Similar to the Blue Cosmos but occupying the opposite end of the rope, Betelgeuse was a group of extreme Coordinators who inherited the ideal of the late Chairman Zala and immensely despised Naturals. Among them were the finest scientists and technicians of PLANT, a fact which made the matter worse. It was also the prime reason why Former Chairwoman Canavar had asked him to help PLANT in various lines of works. However, Kira doubted he would have agreed if an incident schemed by Betelgeuse and almost taking Athrun and Cagalli's life a week prior the request had not happened.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you," Lacus' voice pulled his attention back to her. "Chairman Dullindal has also invited Cagalli-san and her personal assistant, _Alex Dino_ to join the meeting."

The false name made him chuckle – sure, Athrun with his disguise, and there he was wishing the other guy could have come with a better name. So far, it was the best news he had came across with today since he had not seen his boyfriend or his sister for a couple of months save through videophones.

But it was before the realization hit him.

"They were invited for this meeting too?" His grin had completely vanished by now as he stared hard at Lacus. The latter was about to answer when there was a soft buzz coming from the door as it slid open, a red-haired man Kira recognized once working under Captain Andorew Waldfeld standing behind it, giving them a formal salute.

"Excuse me, Lacus-sama. Representative Hawke is looking for you to examine the Washington incident, he was currently waiting in the main hall. I will escort Lieutenant Yamato to his room."

"Please do so," she inclined her head before turning to her former lover. "I need to go, Kira. Please stay in your room to avoid being seen by anyone who possibly recognizes you. I will drop by later."

He nodded with a 'thanks' and they exited the room, Haro going with its owner and Tori returning to rest on his shoulder. Wasting no time, Da Costa led him outside the building to a parking lot packed with many vehicles, and advanced to one of them. He took his place behind the steering wheel while Kira slipped into the passenger's seat.

"We book you a room at Dione Hotel, Sir," Da Costa said once they joined the fairly scarce traffic. "Hope it suits your taste."

"I'm sure it's fine. And please call me Kira," the younger boy smiled.

"Old habits die hard, Sir – no, I mean... yeah, you know the military stuff," he grinned at his passenger. "Can't get away from it, even though Lacus-sama says quite the same thing to us."

A buzz from the radio interrupted his words. The red-haired guy pressed a button on the device and a cool monotonous female voice reverberated in the vehicle. "A message to Second Lieutenant Da Costa from Representative Canavar. The party from New Heliopolis will arrive at 1700 hour today. Second Lieutenant Da Costa is to welcome and subsequently escort the party to PLANT Council Building, where Representative Canavar will personally meet the party. The list of every member in the New Heliopolis party will be sent to your phone, number 2467-037991. Please reconfirm the message."

After Da Costa repeated the message and the buzz died down, Kira looked at him sympathetically and commented, "Quite busy, aren't you?"

"Can't be helped, Kira-san," he shrugged helplessly. "Many ZAFT soldiers still can't forget what happened in Boaz and nearly half of them resign from the military to forget about war. Or those who want vendetta choose to join Betelgeuse in due course," his voice suddenly turned grave. "That organization is getting bigger from time to time and so is Blue Cosmos. I wonder when these will be over at last."

Kira did not try to reply. It was a difficult question, one he had asked himself only too often and still found no answer. Both Naturals and Coordinators had suffered a great number of casualties from the previous war, bearing, hiding a deep scar in their hearts. He knew that it was not easy to forgive, not when one had been hurt too much, and unfortunately there were too many of them in both sides. While the neutron jammers had been renewed with a system which would not tolerate any canceller – at least with the current technology – men still kept discovering new ways to delight the goddess of war.

It probably was not his place to say, but humans sure were stupid to allow them to be the slave of their own ambition. More frighteningly, he began to think that Raww Le Klueze had said the right thing about mankind. Not that he wished to terminate them all though.

_Hopefully_ not.

"Don't you want to get out of the car, Kira-san?" Da Costa's query pulled him out of his reverie and he looked up, startled, at the grinning redhead who was already standing on his feet. "Lacus-sama says that sometimes you are too serious for your own good. I don't think it's exaggerated, looking at how immersed you were in your thought just now."

Kira smiled apologetically and followed the older guy into the grand modern-looking hotel. The lobby had its floor glossy under his shoes, pristine and very spacious, typical of most of hotels he had ever visited. Guests were coming and leaving the lobby, and he stood quite unobtrusively behind Da Costa who was speaking with a middle-aged receptionist, observing them all from the corner of his eyes. One or two guests were wearing the Council uniform, acting all important-like as if trying to impress their surrounding. He almost winced at the sight – quite unbecoming for a person who should be representing his people's will. Whatever the grave matter Chairman Dullindal needed to discuss, he was obviously keeping it a secret enough.

When they were ascending to the fifth floor– as what the receptionist had informed them – Da Costa said in a low voice, "I have arranged your reservation to be under the name of Klaus Yulim, as Lacus-sama has instructed. And she also asked me to remind you not to wear ZAFT uniform even in the room, save for when you are going to meet the Chairman tomorrow."

Kira nodded, accepting them without any second thought. A minute later he had stood inside his room, a gold-nuanced, simply but elegantly furnished room with direct scenery to the heart of metropolis. Da Costa gave him the card key and bid him goodbye with a grin. "Have a good rest, Yulim-san."

Right. _Klaus Yulim._ At least it sounded better than Alex Dino. He smiled back, saying 'thank you' and closed the door, not forgetting to put the lock on. The large white-covered bed in the center of the room was a pretty sight for him – he had but a little sleep the night before to get things done before going to PLANT. Slumping to said bed, he let out a long contented sigh, stretching his stiff muscles in process. A little evening nap would do him good.

He was drifting to a deep slumber when his videophone suddenly beeped. His eyes flung open instantly – a habit he had developed to sudden urgent calls during the war – and he quickly reached for the small device inside his uniform. There was a short message from Lacus, notifying him that she would drop by at 8 and perhaps they could have a dinner together afterwards. At the end of the message she wrote a sequence of numbers – Da Costa's phone number, she said – in case he would need something later.

Kira couldn't help but to smile at the small icon of Haro ending the message. Often he would still wonder why he could not love her the way lovers did. It was more of an admiration to a compassionate yet strong-willed girl who had been his pillar of strength when he must brace himself to face Athrun. Then, it had been her too who had pointed out that he – quite obviously – was falling in love with his best friend. She told him that she had love for peace greater than for anything – or anyone – else, and it would have been unfair, she had stated, that he was there with her while someone else was loving him much more, but also without the faintest idea of his own feeling.

His sister, he remembered, had dubbed them 'the thickest idiots in the whole universe who are stupid enough to not realize they have been loving each other for twelve years until someone finally takes a pity and smacks their faces with the truth'. Kira hardly minded though, for it meant Cagalli only had the smallest of objections to the fact that her brother practically stole her boyfriend from her. Even though his happiness had reached its peak when Athrun had declared that he loved him too, he could not help but to feel slightly guilty at her.

But yeah, Athrun loved him too. It was hard not too feel blissful at the fact.

He stared at his videophone and shifted his position to lay supine. He certainly could do with a call. After a few moments of waiting, Athrun's face appeared on the screen, a pure surprise on his visage.

"Kira!"

"Hey Athrun," he grinned to the blue-haired guy as Torii suddenly flew down from the top of the drawer where it had been perching and once again tried to claim a spot on his head. The surprise had not yet to dissipate from Athrun's face when a blond-haired girl appeared at his side, a bright smile on her face.

"Kira! Finally you call after god-knows how long!" Cagalli casually flung an arm around her personal assistant who was visibly rubbing his ears, telling her to calm down a bit. She stuck her tongue at Athrun as her grin turned mischievous, a feigned disappointment ringing in her voice. "You're giving Athrun a call but not your sister? I'm feeling quite neglected you know."

"I called you last week," Kira pointed out.

"Yeah, and I bet you call him every night," she remarked mockingly, and then suddenly disappeared from the screen. Her voice, however, still could be heard chiming in the background. "Don't worry, I'm not going to eavesdrop. Come on, Kisaka! Let's get out and leave these lovebirds alone to have their private discussion."

A door was slammed and the two guys stared each other.

"I've told her to behave," Athrun muttered with a sigh, yet his green eyes were gleaming in amusement. "You won't believe what she almost said to Chairman Dullindal this morning. Luckily Colonel Kisaka had a good timing to trip on the cable and terminate the connection, so she was left cursing and hissing to a blank screen."

Kira chuckled and pulled a pillow to prop his chin, an action which made Tori complaint a little 'torii!' and hop down to his side. "Seems you get your hands full there."

"She is your sister, in case you forget," the longhaired boy replied sourly. There was a moment of silence as Kira maintained a devoted stare at his best friend. He was trying to hide a grin when an uncomfortable look appeared on Athrun's face. "What?"

Tilting his head to a side and letting Torii to give his cheek a little peck, he asked playfully, "Do you miss me?"

"I think you've damaged your brain, Kira," Athrun answered with a serious voice, his forefinger tapping his chin thoughtfully. At the sight, Kira began to have more than a little difficulty in suppressing his grin. His friend's emerald eyes diverted their focus to Torii and he said conversationally to the mechanical bird, "I had proven to be just fine, happy even, without seeing his face for three years. Right, Tori?"

The older guy mocked a desperate sigh. "I pity whoever your boyfriend is, Athrun Zala."

"What a coincidence. I pity him too." Athrun tried to maintain his solemn look, but his last word cracked and both guys burst into a stream of laughter. Then he looked at him, in his luminous eyes a glow Kira had loved since their first encounter twelve years ago, and his voice falling for a gentler, quieter tone, almost a whisper. "I miss you."

Something warm fluttered inside his stomach as Kira smiled, feeling that he could never love anyone else as much as his best friend.

"Not more than I do."

**_ To Be Continued_**

**Ramblings:** Okay... it was just about the mushiest ending I've ever written for a chapter runs and hidesBetelgeuse is the name of one of the brightest stars in the constellation of Orion. I was just looking for a cool name when I came across to that one. Anyway, please review?


	3. Her Annoyance

**Title: After The Sunrise**

**Author: Jusrecht**

**Genre:** Drama/Romance/Action/Adventure

**Pairings:** Main: Kira/Athrun, Cagalli?; Others: Dearka/Yzak

**Disclaimer:** Not mine

**Warning (for this chapter):** Male/male pairings, major AU-ness to Gundam SEED Destiny series

**Notes: **Thanks to **Isarandel, DaredevilX, teno-hikari, JC Maxwell-Yuy, RuByMoOn17, SRSWSSS, **and **lightyearsaway** for reviewing the second chapter. To **Dephanie**, thank you for reminding me about using the word 'guy'. I hope you find this chapter satisfactory.

**Stage Three: Her Annoyance**

For the umpteenth time, Athrun wondered why he ever had the thought to offer himself to be her bodyguard.

"Some good stuffs they have here," Cagalli took a small bite of her fruit pie before setting her gaze back cautiously at her personal assistant. "And you were saying?"

Athrun managed to suppress a frustrated growl and resolved on glaring at her. "You have to wear a dress, Cagalli. I know you bring one with you."

"This is a really ugly business, Ath– no, I mean, Alex. You heard what Dullindal said, didn't you? We _cannot_ afford to stand out too much," she attempted a look of earnest sincerity, which immediately fell into an utter rebelliousness once she caught his stern expression. "Oh, come on! That frilly girly stupid pink dress will make me look like some kind of misplaced idiot!"

"I know I should ask Mana to come with us," the longhaired guy muttered sourly to himself. Cagalli grinned victoriously and yet chose not to tell him that it was the actual reason of her giving her nursemaid a permission to visit her relatives out of town.

The party from ORB, consisting of the youngest representative in the Council of ORB, her bodyguard, Alex Dino, and Colonel Edneil Kisaka, was currently resting at a guest room provided by Chairman Dullindal. They had just arrived thirty minutes ago and the Chairman, despite Representative Athha's fervent objection, had insisted them to have some rest first before starting the meeting. For further reason, they still needed to wait for others who would participate in the small meeting and had not arrived yet, or so he had said.

Cagalli finished her fruit pie and glanced at Kisaka who was standing behind the window, watchful of what might happen outside. "How long do they expect us to wait here?"

"Until you're willing to wear a more appropriate outfit?" Athrun suggested helpfully before the third person in their group could reply.

The blond girl sighed and settled an annoyed look at him. "Just give up, Alex. Or I'm _really _going to send my brother that photo of you wearing my make up."

A look of utter horror passed across Athrun's face. "You _don't _have it."

"Oh, I do," she nodded seriously even though her insides were about to burst from overdosed hilarity. "I took it when I was bored and there you were, falling asleep on the couch without any second thought of your duty. Won't ever find any easier victim, don't you think?" It was a bluff, of course – Athrun would slit her throat first before she had the chance to do anything evil to his perfect complexion – but seeing the forever-imperturbable young man's horror-stricken look was worth nearly everything in this world.

The old tricks always worked, she decided with sheer satisfaction when her assistant finally fell silent. She was lucky to have the upper hand though, since there was no such person that he could use against her.

Cagalli frowned. That thought again. It was bothering her somewhat lately, like kept reminding her of her solitary state. Sure, Athrun would always be there to help her in many ways and she was in fact too busy to think about anything along that line, but for some reasons the thought resided obstinately in a corner of her mind, bitter and irremovable.

She shook her head, trying to shake off the thought as well, and looked at her companions. "Have some of these too, guys," she offered the pies and tea, rather unruffled by Athrun's still hostile look. "The meeting may be longer than we expect."

Several knocks suspended her next words and Kisaka quickly moved to the door, his fingers set preparedly before his handgun. But they instantly loosened once the door flung open, revealing a brown-haired young man wearing ZAFT uniform. Cagalli noticed Athrun's eyes lighten up a bit at the sight and she grinned herself and jumped to her feet to give her brother a hug.

"Kira!"

The former pilot of Freedom was thankful that the door had been shut behind him; else, his sister's sudden assault would have toppled him to the floor. "Uh, yeah, it's me. Obviously."

"I thought you were in the Special Force," she remarked with a frown, looking down to his dark-green attire. "Did they kick you out? I'll throw a party if that really happens."

"Unfortunately not yet," Kira beamed and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "Not quite befitting me, isn't it?"

"No ZAFT uniform will ever befit you," she stated decisively before pushing him away. "Now go and kiss your boyfriend. He was giving me a headache by fussing about meeting you all the way here."

Athrun, she noted, was still giving her a stern look even though a kiss her brother had placed on his cheek was somewhat abating its intensity. Kira chuckled at his expression, nudging him to just ignore her and keep his attention solely at him, and a moment later Athrun had returned his grin. Cagalli stared at the little scene with hands crossed in front of her chest, a disappointed look on her face.

"Just that?" she demanded.

"Seriously, Cagalli," Athrun's voice hinted a considerate amount of sweetness which had a lot more to do with lethal venom than harmless candies, "what is it _exactly_ that you're dying to see?"

"What we're about to do isn't for your innocent eyes to see, little sister," Kira added with a somewhat somber voice, a conspiratorial look on his face.

The 'little sister' gritted her teeth and smiled tartly, both of her hands visibly curling into a fist. "I'm your _big_ sister, little brother, don't you dare go off and forget that." Then her eyes shot back to Athrun. "And don't you laugh, Alex Dino. You _are_ positively much younger than me."

"And so she said," the longhaired boy tilted his head, giving his partner in crime a dejected look.

"You could have told her that you were born in 54."

"That would be a serious crime, Kira," Athrun pointed out in a grave tone, which for some reasons made Cagalli's temper flare even higher instead. The boys were pointedly ignoring her, or more precisely, pretending like she was not even there. "You know how they deal with that kind of thing in PLANT. I'd rather not to do that unless you want me to spend the rest of my days behind bars. And, you know, I don't think I quite have the heart to lie to a sweet albeit slightly insolent little girl."

The older boy shrugged helplessly, his face straight but his eyes twinkling with laughter. "But it is for her own good. We don't want to defile her uncorrupted mind, do we? What kind of brother I am to let my sister's mind be harmed with depraved thoughts?"

"This is _so _unfair," Cagalli muttered under her breath, but none of the two was paying a heed as much as sparing her a glance, too 'engaged' in their boys' talk. Another train of protests was about to slip past her mouth when a finger was placed in front of her lips, ceasing their movement at once. Athrun had turned around and now had his back facing her, one arm set defensively to shield her body yet ready to strike if situation called. There was no trace of frivolity left on his countenance; it was Alex Dino carrying out his duty as a bodyguard.

"Someone's lurking out there," he informed her quietly, sharp green eyes never leaving the door. Kira and Kisaka had readied themselves behind said door, each carrying a handgun, waiting in stiff silence.

A faint click from the brass handle followed a moment later and the door was pushed open with the slightest noise. Kira's tense shoulders slackened considerably at the sight of Da Costa halting before the door as Athrun made a way for Cagalli to greet their newly arrived visitor. The ZAFT officer quickly slipped inside and saluted at them.

"Representative Athha, the meeting will be begun momentarily. I will escort you to the meeting room."

Not even a simple nod had been given as a reply when there was a sound of hurried footsteps and quiet but audibly panic murmurs from the other side of the door. Cagalli frowned and asked, "Is there something going on?"

Da Costa's face was grave but his reply remained noncommittal. "I'm afraid I have not the liberty to answer, but the Chairman surely would be willing to clarify this matter by himself. Shall we go now?"

The small party left swiftly through long corridors. Along the way they came across few Council members who would just pass quickly without offering them a single glance. Cagalli's frown deepened. The look on those officials' face implied that whatever errand they were in, the matter was far from light. Her suspicion escalated another degree when they arrived.

The so-called meeting room was a bright chamber with cushions set comfortably circling a small coffee table. The autumn sun was graciously pouring its merry light into the room, giving her a warm impression of a pleasant, relaxing living room, not a place suited for a discussion that – as Dullindal had said – could disrupt the perpetuity of peace they were trying to preserve. However, something prevented her from feeling right at ease, probably the warmth of the room itself. She pretty much knew Dullindal and his ways, and he would not choose such homey place as a meeting room unless it was his intention to make the topic they were about to discuss seem less depressing.

Some of the seats, she noted, had been occupied. There was the chairman of course, and Representative Canavar by his side. Lacus was there too, even though she could not spot Haro's whereabouts in the room – robotic things, naturally, were not welcomed in a formal meeting. She also recognized in the group a young man in white military uniform, formerly a ZAFT pilot she had met once after the war two years ago, but he had been wearing a Council robe just like Canavar back then.

Dullindal rose from his seat, an overformal smile brightening his pale visage. "How grateful I am that you have agreed to come, Princess. Please take a seat."

After Cagalli chose the farthest seat from him, the Chairman waved his hand at the remaining seats and looked at the rest of his guests. "There is no further need for formality or discretion here, Athrun Zala-kun, Kira Yamato-kun, and of course Colonel Kisaka. Please sit down."

The two guys shared an apprehensive glance before accepting the offer. It seemed to be a high-level problem they were about to converse.

"This is not exactly a favorable topic for us," Dullindal began once he had taken his own seat, his decorous smile dimming considerably. Cagalli rolled her eyes, which immediately earned her a reprimanding look from Kisaka while the Chairman of PLANT was pretending to not take any notice. "I would not disturb you, Princess, if I indeed can take this matter into my own hand, which is almost improbable considering our situation. Concisely said, there was something in our possession which has been stolen six days ago."

There was a moment of tight silence before Cagalli reacted with a stiff smile, "And in what part can I offer my aid to resolve this... case of burglary, I should say?"

Dullindal's smile was no less wry. "In many ways, milady. One of them is to give us your consent for Athrun Zala-kun to help us in this delicate matter."

All present eyes were averted to the referred young man who was sitting quietly with hands crossed defensively in front of his chest. The pair of sea green eyes was narrowed slightly as if finding the proposal rather suspicious, his reply delivered with a flat tone, "If you are willing to provide us with clearer explanation, Chairman."

"Certainly," Dullindal 's answer came swiftly as he nodded to Canavar at his left side. Cagalli noticed that the longhaired woman tightened her lips grimly before proceeding to open a file her fingers had been clinging onto closely all the time, and a shiver suddenly ran down her spine. It was similar to what she had felt two years ago, when she had discovered that her father had been helping the OMNI force in developing new types of mobile suits. She only hoped that Dullindal did not make the same mistake.

"It all began six months ago," Canavar's voice was somber, almost rigid. "ZAFT, under Chairman Dullindal's permission, has commenced a secret project from which we might discover a better way to protect our people. PLANT High Council had come into a conclusion that mobile suits no longer could provide us the security our citizen needed, and thus we sought for a better, more reliable solution. An idea was brought up and later approved by majority vote. It was to shift our center of attention not to rely too much on machines but probably _living_ beings."

There was no need to wait long for a reaction from one of the attentive listeners. "So, I take it that you are developing biological weapons," Cagalli said coolly, yet those with keener eyes could easily perceive that her temper was beginning to heat up. "Viruses, I assume?"

"If that is how you wish to put it, Representative Athha," the older woman stared straight into her eyes, impassive and unwavering. Then she looked back at her file and resumed, "We set up several experiments using common viruses as well as bacteria, but no significant result was attainable until four months ago. A group of our researchers found a new variety which was able to kill a living organism – they were using rabbits – in less than ten minutes. Their hypothetical theory was that the newly-found breed, GARM-Alpha as they named it, might kill a normal human," she flashed a cautious glance at the young ORB representative, "or in this case, _Naturals,_ in approximately one hour at most."

A tense silence stretched in the room as Canavar waited for a response from any of the dire faces around her. When none came, she swallowed and continued with a clear albeit quirky voice. "Not yet contented with GARM-Alpha, two weeks later the same group discovered another new variety they later called GARM-Beta by manipulating the RNA of the Alpha. It was, as they stated, more lethal than its predecessor. However, no one could explain clearly how more lethal the variety Beta was until an incident took place two months ago."

She took a deep breath while the others visibly held theirs. "One of our researchers died because of the virus and he was a Coordinator at his thirty."

And then, among them settled a longer louder silence. The fact that Coordinators were immune to most if not all Naturals' diseases had been widely acknowledged and news of a young Coordinator dying because of any kind of illness was unheard-of. But of course, since Coordinators were the genetically modified form of Naturals, it was not impossible at all that a genetically modified virus could bring harm to them.

"We kept this incident classified to avoid panic," a trace of discomfort emerged in her voice. "There are few, even now in the High Council, who have the knowledge of this incident. But six days ago, an occurrence took place and rendered the confidentiality of this matter no longer possible. Both variety of viruses have been purloined from the third laboratory where they were kept."

"The security level of our laboratories is excellent," Dullindal added, his hands positioned as to form a pyramid in front of his mouth. "However, if our suspicion is correct, it should be relatively feasible for Betelgeuse, with whom several of our former researchers have joined, to break through our security system and accomplish the larceny. The system has been upgraded following their desertion, but of course, with our lack of manpower, we could not do as much as replacing the entire system with a new one."

Cagalli was now staring hard at Dullindal, her voice stern and cold. "I was expecting a wiser judgment from you, Chairman, than committing an act which could lead us to another chaos. Surely, one has learned enough from the previous war?"

"I can assure you, Princess, that my intention was nothing of the sort," again, a stiff smile appeared on the Chairman's face. "Yes, we without a doubt realized that there were flaws in our idea, as Representative Clyne had courteously pointed out in one of our meetings, and yet it was the best one we could come up with at the moment. We have to protect our people who do not wish to enter the battlefield by joining the military or Betelgeuse but often are still targeted by Blue Cosmos. In case if something happens."

"One thing though," Kira's voice rose in the middle of the glaring contest between the two. "Why didn't you just destroy the Beta virus if it could bring harm to Coordinators too? Even after it had taken a victim, I see that you still insisted on keeping it."

The look that emerged on Dullindal's face resembled pity very much that even the compassionate Kira had to feel offended by it. "Surely you have noticed, Lieutenant Yamato, being one who constantly fights bravely in the front line, that Blue Cosmos is not the only association who feels that peace should not reign. Betelgeuse is an organization of Coordinators, and even though it saddens me to go against our own kith and kin, we do not have many choices, do we? Their targets now are not limited to Naturals only, but also Coordinators who are trying to preserve peace alongside with the Naturals. They say that we are the traitors." A dry chuckle escaped his lips at the end of his words.

Before Cagalli could launch another biting comment, Athrun had said briskly, "I don't see how my ability may be of use in this case."

Dullindal looked at his right side. "Commander Jule, as one of the few ZAFT officers who have the knowledge of this matter, may be able to answer your question better than I am."

Yzak, still as proud as Athrun remembered, rose from his seat and walked to the wall at the other side of the room, in his hand a small control device. There he pushed what looked like a lamp switch and the wall behind him vanished, replaced by a wide screen. Cagalli raised her eyebrows at the sight – so much for a home-like room to have such trick inside its wall.

"It was 11 at night when the larceny happened," Yzak started, as a map with colorful specks appeared on the screen. "As soon as I was notified, I sent three Ginns to pursue the ship that we suspected had the viruses on board. It was an unknown model," he flicked his finger on the controller and an image of a small white-grey ship replaced the map on screen. "We didn't have any record on this ship, so it might be a prototype they had recently built. It was fast and even our Ginns had some difficulty to keep up with the speed. I was following on my own ship and keeping a contact with the pilot of the Ginns when suddenly we lost our contact."

"I was at Jachin Due when the report came," the young commander continued as a small green point flickered on the screen which had switched back to a map. Another button on the controller was pushed and a red curving line appeared from the green point, following its way crossing the whole screen filled with blinking white specks, until it halted to a yellow spot at the farthest right end. "The Ginns pursued them all the way to the yellow area, where Artemis once were. One of the pilot reported that they had lost sight of the ship at that site. We lost our contact with them shortly after and when we eventually arrived, the Ginns had been but smashed pieces of metals."

"This is currently hypothetical," Yzak looked back at his audience, "but there is a colony named Hecate somewhere around the area. An old one, pretty much abandoned years ago. Whoever possessing the viruses now may have a base established there, so back then I instructed a quick search around the colony. However, before we reached our destination, my ship detected a massive thermal source surrounding the colony, but when we had gotten closer, there was nothing we could see but the remaining of an old colony. I decided to put the mission into a halt and reported first."

"Could it possibly be something like the Umbrella of Artemis?" suddenly Kira spoke up.

Yzak nodded at him frigidly. "It was also my theory at the moment. A shield, but an invisible one. My ship would have been destroyed if I had insisted to go on and let a collision ensue."

"And the connection with Athrun or Kira is?" The sharp edges in Cagalli's voice were still there.

Dullindal once again took his obligation to deliver the answer. "Once ZAFT dispatched a number of groups to investigate old colonies scattered around our region. Hecate," he paused for a moment, keen eyes moving quietly yet calculatingly to where Athrun sat with an emotionless face, "as Commander Jule recalls, was a colony assigned to Athrun Zala, Nicol Amarfi, and Miguel Ayman. Since the other two are no longer among us, I suppose the choice is rather obvious."

The blue-haired young man returned Dullindal's stare indifferently. "It was four years ago. And if someone does put a base there, I will expect the terrain to be completely changed."

"Better some dim memories than nothing at all, Athrun Zala-kun," the Chairman reasoned before shifting his gaze to Kira. "As for Lieutenant Yamato, the architect of our new Jachin Due's defense system, the one who has the capability to improve the neutron jammers in so little time that we are no longer in fear of nuclear wars, and the pilot of Freedom itself, it would be a grave insult not to involve him in this matter. Of course," he inclined his head at the brown-haired young man, "I would ask for your agreement to come first, even though I must say that your vast technical knowledge would be a great help."

After another round of deafening silence, Dullindal cleared his throat and turned back to Cagalli. "Also in this occasion, I would like to offer Representative Athha a place in Commander Jule's ship to observe this mission, as a verification of our good intention to United Emirates of ORB."

At the end of his words, the PLANT Chairman had both said representative's brother and bodyguard glaring at him in a mixture of disbelief and indignation. Cagalli herself was rather surprised by the offer, and at the same time, very much suspicious that it might have a hidden meaning than the mentioned 'good intention'.

"Since this is a very sensitive matter, Princess," the Chairman resumed and Cagalli glowered at him at the re-alteration of his reference to her, "I would trust your judgment whether or not to notify the officials of your country regarding this incident and the upcoming mission. Representative Clyne would be able to help, I suppose, since being our official Ambassadors for the Earth Alliance, she must be quite experienced in this field."

"We have to do what we could to prevent more casualties," Lacus eventually spoke for the first time, her eyes fixed calmly at Dullindal who returned it with a dry smile.

"I do not expect a straight answer," Dullindal stood, which was quickly followed by the others due to a sudden urge to leave the room as soon as possible. He smiled at each of his guests in turn before his gaze finally rested on Cagalli. Kisaka, closely standing behind the blonde princess, looked warily her coiled fists. "Please take your time to rest this night and consider about this matter. I will be grateful if you have your answer ready by tomorrow morning, preferably affirmative, for the well-being of our co-existence."

The formal smile widened slightly. "Have a good day."

_-To be continued –_

**Ramblings:** Phew, what a helluva scene to write. Too wordy in my opinion and there is too much talking. I am sorry if it seems that Dullindal is treated badly in this chapter. Well, I don't really like him but I've tried not to dwell in that sentiment. Do tell me if you have any opinion. Thanks for reading!


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